Canadians more political than voter turnout indicates

Much has already been said about the poor voter turnout in recent provincial and territorial elections. Commentators have been quick to highlight trending voter apathy and in so doing lament the political malaise of the masses. At best, the citizenry is labelled disenchanted and unengaged; often the public is simply condemned as foolish and lazy.

Dylan Marando, HBA, MPP, is a Toronto-based public policy consultant.

Upon closer inspection, however, it seems as if these criticisms miss the mark. They fail to recognize one of the more intriguing political conundrums of our time. Namely, they fail to see that while voter turnout has never been lower, it is also quite possible that political interest is at an all time high.

At present, politics, broadly defined, is rampant. From the “Arab spring” abroad, to the Wall Street protests in the US, to the HST rebellion in B.C., and all the way to the gravy-train wreckage in Toronto’s City Hall, we can spot hundreds of genuinely political issues that have garnered significant public interest and real engagement.

Daily in this country placards are raised, marches are organized, letters are written, petitions are signed and public meetings are attended. Facebook statuses and the twitter-verse light up every minute with scathing criticisms or unrestrained praise for a wide range of issues — climate change, war, taxes, jobs, culture, etc.

Importantly, when these conspicuous forms of political advocacy are absent, it is almost always the case that inconspicuous but equally meaningful political actions are present instead. Grumbling about gas prices, tracking RIM’s stock, browsing the web to see what’s showing at TIFF, cursing a delayed Air Canada flight, celebrating your kid’s math mark, and savouring the latest KFC sandwich, are all examples of such ubiquitous yet inconspicuous political actions — actions which are undoubtedly popular and also pregnant with political import.

These are actions which could be dismissed as symptoms of our culture of mass consumption. But, they may also be signs that in such a culture -— in the kind of information rich, networked, and fast-paced world that we live -— political apathy is impossible. Given the massive role of the state in our lives (indirect or direct, acknowledged or not), Canadians necessarily end-up consuming and producing their fair share of politics.

Yes, when it comes time turn these small “p” political actions into big “P” Political gestures (i.e. voting), we appear too busy. But, again, such distraction does not make Canadians apolitical. Indeed, our “apathy” may be rooted in a form of “hyper-politicalness” — a preoccupation with our to day-to-day public policy challenges, albeit at the expense of partisan activity. Everyday there are opportunities for individuals to tacitly endorse or protest the political direction of this country, and every day people do. Every day the citizenry votes on public policy in some shape or form. They do it by choosing to live in a particular community, purchase certain products, work in a specific industry, commute home in a certain way, read a certain newspaper, and donate to a certain cause.

Simply stated, the vast majority of Canadians are politicos. Almost every Canadian holds a vast amount of political knowledge within their life experiences. It just so happens that many Canadians participate in politics in a way that presently does not translate into party membership, political donations, and voting.

Given this paradox, policy-makers country-wide need to pay closer attention to the mediums we are using to bridge the gap between so-called small and big “P” politics. Frankly, politics can no longer be about old white men in suits and ties. It cannot be about a bunch of talking heads sitting in a century old chamber of solid oak beginning every sentence with “Mr. Speaker”. It cannot be about going to your local library every four years, picking up a golf pencil, and stuffing a cue card into a shoe-box.

Policy-makers need to stop being “apathetic” to public interests and the shape and structure of public conversation. Policy-makers need to find a way to make politics a seamless part of our everyday life. Policy-makers need to find a way to harness the enormous political intelligence and capacity which is held by the citizenry yet presently lost in translation.

To do this, an open and thorough national discussion needs to be had on innovations in our electoral system -— from stem to stern. We need to think about adding more colour and choice to the political process through proportional representation. We need to modernize the way policy-makers communicate and thus shift more resources to the creation of virtual constituency offices, or maybe even virtual parliaments. We need to change the way we solicit feedback and thus provide more opportunities for participatory e-budgeting, on-line voting, and tele-town halls. We need to embrace the open-data revolution in government, ditch our fear of coalitions, and turn our policy leaders into a much more accessible, relatable, and diverse group that is plain-speaking, not afraid to admit mistakes, and, most importantly, capable of talking in a compelling manner about issues that people will listen to.

Bottom line, Canadians care about their lives. Canadians will take time to make their lives better. Canadians are always actively looking for ways to make their lives better (see Google). And involvement in politics affects people’s quality of life considerably.

Policy leaders have a duty to step in the middle of the citizenry’s search for self-improvement to show them what is on offer. We need to connect the dots —- we need to understand the “apathetic” citizen’s issue and then explain very clearly why that issue is political and thus deserving of political participation.

We need to give people a chance to be political and Political at the same time. We need to make political participation a modern, efficient, and convenient process; a process that makes it just as easy to vote formally as it is to vote informally through our everyday actions. The policy leaders of this country must be accountable for voter “apathy”, and they must lead the charge against it.